Current geographical conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East threaten to spill into larger, protracted wars. The United States House of Representatives can’t seem to agree on a new Speaker. And former President Donald Trump’s legal woes appear to get worse by the week.
Despite all this, the U.S. economy is the issue that remains top of mind for Americans, according to recent findings from the Economist and market research firm YouGov.
Inflation/prices was listed as the most important issue facing the country, cited by one in five (20 percent) Americans as the top issue, revealing the highest importance level of any of the 15 issues provided in the poll and nearly double the second-most-important issue listed. Jobs and the economy came in second (11 percent), tied with healthcare (11 percent). This was followed by climate change and the environment (10 percent), national security (8 percent), immigration (7 percent), taxes and government spending (6 percent), civil rights (5 percent), abortion (5 percent), crime (4 percent), education (4 percent), guns (4 percent), civil liberties (3 percent), criminal justice reform (1 percent) and foreign policy (1 percent).
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In total, three-quarters (74 percent) of Americans surveyed consider the state of inflation and prices to be “very important”—more than for any of the other 14 issues listed—followed by 21 percent who called it “somewhat important.’
Inflation’s lingering presence in the post-COVID economy portends trouble for President Biden’s 2024 reelection efforts. Despite the fact that inflation has been steadily declining for months from its 2022 peak, it remains stubbornly high compared to pre-pandemic levels, supplying an obvious wedge for the Republican Party to capitalize on as we head into an election year.
Generally, 41 percent of Americans surveyed said they approve of the job that President Biden is doing, compared to 53 percent who said they disapprove. On the matter of inflation and prices, only 34 percent said they approve of Biden’s efforts to tackle this problem, compared to 56 percent who disapprove. Only 42 percent said they approve of what Biden has done for jobs and the economy, compared to 48 percent who disapprove. When it comes to taxes and government spending, only 36 percent approve of the job Biden is doing, compared to 54 percent who disapprove.
YouGov’s findings were based on a national survey of 1,500 U.S. adult citizens selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel. Surveys were conducted in October.
Maggie Moran, who is well-connected in New Jersey and New York Democratic politics, has established Moxie Strategies in Asbury Park, NJ.
Husch Blackwell Strategies has added FleishmanHillard alum Michael Slatin as a principal in its public affairs group.
Rory Cooper, a veteran Republican operative and policy specialist, has joined Teneo’s Washington office as senior managing director in its strategy & communications practice.
Brian Fallon, who served as national press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run, is signing on next month as Vice President’s Kamala Harris’ campaign communications director.
TikTok is nothing more than a Chinese propaganda tool that poses “a grave threat to America’s national security and, in particular, impressionable children and young adults,” say two Congressmen who want the platform registered as a foreign agent.
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